Hello, sweeties. It’s a gorgeous day, the last before a predicted four days of rain, which, oh well. We need rain to keep everything green and also to turn into snow when the opportunity arises. It’s pretty cold and getting colder, so keep your fingers crossed for me. Mine might be encased in gloves and thus, unable to move freely. Here’s hoping. I’d really like some snow.

A couple things. First, you know how I’ve been harping about the book Remarkable Healings? Well, I was bogged down in the myriad case studies the author presented so I skimmed ahead to the final chapter in which she wrapped everything up, and I need to apologize to her and to you for misrepresenting her. She just looks scared on the back cover. She’s really a wonderful person and not afraid at all. I like her. So Dr. Modi, you go, girl. I still can’t get 100% behind her idea that she may be talking to actual evil entities – it just goes against everything I’ve been coming to believe for myself lately – but I believe in her pure heart, and that I can most definitely get behind. Second, I want to confess that I have fallen in love with the show Monk, which – as far as confessions go – is tantamount to admitting to secret late-night (geriatric) affinities for Murder She Wrote or Matlock. But I do, I really love Monk, and Tony Shalhoub deserves an Emmy for his portrayal of an OCD sufferer. I’ve always liked fringe people anyway, souls who don’t quite fit in, because that’s how I’ve always felt about my ownself. There, I feel better now that you know.

The past couple days, especially the earliest part of them, from around 4 am to 10 am, have been chewy nougats of goodness wrapped in embossed leaves of dark chocolate soaked in crystal goblets full to the brim of Danziger Gold Leaf Vodka. I’ve been practicing tarot by doing readings for myself, and have gotten some really wonderful guidance as a result. I’m keeping a journal of my readings and in a minute I might get up off the couch and fetch the journal so I can tell you one of them, but first I want to say that I’ve developed quite a little ritual to start each session. I like ritual, when I make it up myself and it isn’t imposed upon me. That said, I have been thinking about trying to find a midnight Christmas Eve service to go to, preferably one thrown by the Episcopalians, who know how to do ritual up right and simultaneously remain refreshingly inclusive. So I guess I like a little ritual by others, too. Sometimes. Anyway.

My card reading ritual is this: 1-Prepare by singing and praying for about half an hour before the reading. This I do while reading or sitting quietly. 2-Move the ottoman to the outside edge of the rug, forming a square space on the living room floor for me to work in. 3-Place the Buddha on the ottoman and light the incense he holds in his lotus bowl (but it doesn’t have to be the Buddha; it can be any incense holder, since the point is the smoke). 4-Sing and pray some more, asking for protection, clarity of reception, and light light light. 5-Carefully remove the lid of my pretty ceramic square box and take out the cards, which are wrapped in a funky favorite red and orange handkerchief that I’ve had forever. My tarot journal is behind the box, so I grab that as well. 6-Sit on the floor facing the east, the best direction for prayer as any Muslim or Jew will tell you, and hold the cards while I ponder the question that needs answering. 7-Unwrap the cards, spreading the handkerchief out on the floor because this is where the cards go. 8-Shuffle deck several times, cut it three times, paying special attention to any cards that fall out or otherwise present themselves, and then lay out the cards in my chosen pattern on the handkerchief. I’m using the Horseshoe spread until I master it, and then I’ll move on to another one.

That’s it. The rest of the time is taken up with the reading, the interpretation. I’ve found that each reading takes about an hour because well, I’m a newbie, to begin with, but also because I examine as many facets of each card as I possibly can. It’s all about intuition and it’s better than therapy, I’m telling you, because I’m accessing answers I already have inside me, and all for free! And the pictures are so pretty, the symbolism so rich, the feel of the cards so smooth and right in my hands, that it’s a kinesthetic delight, fully sensual, a material connection to an invisible, spiritual fountain of, who knew?, eminently practical knowledge. It’s a delight.

Well, I took a look at my journal and can see that sharing a reading will easily take up an entire post, so there’s no room for it here. I went ahead and made a separate page for it, which you can find under “Sample Reading.” It will give you an idea of what a reading looks like when I do it.

And now it’s time for bed! The post I started this morning took all day to write, with a break in the middle since I had to go to my folks’ for a few hours. My mom wants to hire me for some year-end bookkeeping, so that’s a yay… that, in addition to the work I do for them during the week, helps keep the wolf away, another yay. I’m grateful. I’m grateful for everything, I’m not kidding. And I’m grateful for you. Thank you for coming around. Love to you all! xo

8 responses to “Just another monastic spastic”

I don’t know if you’ve ever been to the site called “soul biographies”, but it is a sweet and meaningful site with short fims about wonderful people. I watched one today that made me think of you and your mom. Different situation, but still. This is the site: http://www.soulbiographies.com/films/a-life-beyond/

Twi, I bought a book called The Everything Tarot Book, read through it, did what she suggested, and started to practice. The first couple days of intense readings, where I did three each day for about an hour per time, WERE amazing, even when I didn’t always like the answers I got. But today has been awful… I’m emotionally spent, and I can see that I really need to approach the readings from a rested and unburdened place, emotionally. It’s a mistake to go into them feeling heavy in any way! I’m learning a lot as I go, important stuff. Important stuff, like, today I should have taken time off from study and started one of the new novels I got from the library! Which is what I’m going to do now. Or watch an episode of Monk. :)

I haven’t been to the soul biographies site, but I’m going to check your link right now! Love you. xo

I never thought I’d say this, but I think I miss the rain. All we seem to get is snow and sleet lately. I am soooo over the usual “OMG!!! it’s snowing” Irish reaction to snow. We’re fed up slipping and sliding all over the place, we aren’t built for snow here!

But apart from that how are you? All christmassed out yet? Or still in the Yay! phase. We just decorated late last week, so we are still in the “yay! christmas! lights! decorations! its all brilliant :)

WHAT? I don’t want to hear this nonsense about ‘too much snow’… :) Send some over chere. As far as christmassed out… no, not yet! I haven’t really been focused on Christmas this year, which has been a great relief over other years. It’s felt manageable, and today we finally got everything done except one present for Van, but I’m not stressed about it. We’re mostly doing stocking stuff, with only a couple inexpensive gifts, and then we’re sending a box to Torie and Mark, but that will go out today. It’s all feeling mighty good. Sounds as if you’re feeling good too, my darling! YAY!

I’ve really been loving it! Especially now that I’ve been able to lighten up a little… I was putting too much actual thought into it instead of completely letting my intuition speak to me. Now I’m way more relaxed, and it’s way more fun.

Watching…

INTERMITTENT ONGOING SERIES:

~iZombie

~American Horror Story: Freak Show

~Supernatural, Season 10

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RECENTLY WATCHED:

~Byzantium

~Angel, Season 5

~Dark Matter

~What We Do In The Shadows

Everything is working out perfectly. Don’t waste energy thinking that you should have done something else. What you did that doesn’t now seem to make sense is just part of a puzzle that may not be completed for years. ~ Pamela Rainbear Portugal